Shocked



It's that time of year again, the time the stockholders of McGraw Hill get to pick up a little extra cash because the children of NYC are taking Acuity Tests, those tests designed to tell teachers what their students need to work on to be successful on the regents.

The kids know it is a big waste of time.  One boy walked in and announced that he wasn't going to take it.  I knew arguing wouldn't get him to change his mind, so I said, "Please, I get in trouble if you don't."  He then said, "For you, I'll do it, can I have a pencil?"  He sat down and worked the entire period on the exam.

I'm still in shock.  I didn't think this kid even liked me.

Nobody Does It Better

When it comes to wasting money and time and then more money, no one does it better than the New York City Department of Education.  Now, if you happen to be a McGraw Hill stockholder, or a city bureaucrat with ties to that company, I am sure you are vehemently disagreeing with me.

Today was Acuity test day for the algebra classes.  The kids got to spend a period bubbling answers to questions most not only had no clue as to how to answer, but had no clue as to what the question was asking.  The test predominantly covered material they will be taught this term.  The good kids were frustrated.  I don't like being given questions I can't answer and they felt the same.  The not so good kids just bubbled anything and used the period as an excuse to do no work.

We gave Acuity tests to the same kids in June and we never saw those results.  They performed as they did today. 

I have been told that these tests are given so teachers can determine what their students know or do not know. I know that the kids don't know how to graph or how to recognize a parabola.  That work is in this year's curriculum.  They haven't been exposed to yet.  Besides, I am the teacher.  I evaluate what my students know or do not know on a daily basis.  McGraw Hill is being paid thousands of dollars to do what teachers do daily.  The big difference is they are not doing a very good job and teachers are not making the money the execs at this big company make.

Money is tight, budgets are stretched to the limit but McGraw Hill and its stockholders are still doing well.

Where is the accountability for all this wasted time and money? 

McGraw Hill Stockhold Shows Big Gains

At a time when money is tight, the DOE is spending a fortune on Acuity tests for the students scheduled to take the integrated algebra regents in June. The test is designed (supposedly) to point out the areas the students need more work in because teachers are not capable of figuring this out on their own. (We only test and assess our students daily but this is obviously not good enough.) Teachers have only done this by themselves since the beginning of time but the big shot politicians have to take care of their wealthy friends and these lucrative contracts must be given out. School budgets are being cut all over the place, services to children are being withdrawn, but McGraw Hill stockholders are still bringing in the big bucks. When I think of the waste involved with this testing I get physically ill. To add insult to this injury, teacher salaries, pensions and unions are still being blamed for the financial woes of the system.

Aside from the financial strain, there was the waste of time component. A full period was spent administering this exam, a period that could have better been spent on learning. Some of the topics on the exam have not even been taught yet. No computer program is needed to tell a breathing teacher that the kids will not know these topics.

It is time for the general public to wake up and realize that politicians do not care one iota about improving education. They care about making themselves look good and about increasing the spending money of their cronies. We've got to take a stand, for us, for our children and for future generations.